I'm working to fix America's education system on School Pride on NBC, correspondent of AMC News on AMC & executive director of Why Tuesday?, a non-partisan group working to increase voter participation. I've contributed to NPR Weekend Edition and to the PBS series WIRED Science. I got my BA in politics and MA in political theory and philosophy from New York University. During college, I was an advance man to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and presidential candidate Howard Dean.
If you’re passionate about education, and/or you’re excited about my new show School Pride on NBC, then you have to see Waiting for Superman from my favorite movie studio, Participant Media. Click here or below for more information, and to pledge to see the film.
The film is directed by Davis Guggenheim, who also directed the Al Gore documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
My girlfriend Nicole and I had our picture taken by Scott Sternberg for The Outsider’s Guide to LA in this month’s Interview Magazine. The magazine just posted some outtakes of our shoot (we’re top left) and others to their website. Here’s more info about the pics:
For Interview’s August issue, we took a look at Band of Outsiders designer Scott Sternberg’s sunny, preppy vision of Los Angeles. Above, some outtakes we really wanted to publish. Clockwise from top left: Nicole Cari and Jacob Soboroff strum along; Andrew Garfield skates mysteriously; Aziz Ansari and Sarah Silverman haven’t a care in the world; Elvis Mitchell asks “why?”; Spike Jonze takes a nap; Bryan Lourd has had enough. All in a day’s work.
This poor cricket went for a drive down a TN highway stuck to the outside of our car window on our way to Kingston Springs Elementary for NBC School Pride. We lost him.
Yesterday we welcomed the students, teachers and parents of Lanier Elementary back to their newly renovated school. This morning, the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate ran an article (and these photos by Gavin Jackson) from the event. In it, I talked about why we were there.
“School Pride” host Jacob Soboroff said the makeover proved that communities can take matters into their own hands when it comes to making schools better.
“Inside, the school is a world of difference,” Soboroff said. “Before, there was mold and paint coming off the walls. There was little or no technology.”
An expanded and renovated playground and a mural, coupled with the renovated facilities, Soboroff said, mean that “the students can reach their full potential.”
Next stop for the NBC School Pride team, Nashville and Kingston Springs Elementary!
I’m in Baton Rouge with the NBC School Pride team working to renovate Lanier Elementary here. Thanks to Nash Molpus Crews (pictured with me) and John Haffner from Tulane University’s Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, I learned there’s a specific reason some Louisiana schools, including Lanier, are in such poor physical shape: the state government spends zero dollars on school facilities! Nash sat with me for an interview, and afterward the Cowen Institute blogged about it.
We are thrilled that School Pride came to Louisiana, since our facilities needs are so great. Spending on school facilities in Louisiana is fourth-lowest in the nation, and we are one of only nine states where the state government takes no role in supporting facilities. As a result, countless school facilities are in poor condition, and far too many of our students and teachers spend each day in buildings that are literally crumbling down around them. This is why we supported the bill to create the Louisiana Statewide Educational Facilities Authority in the recently-adjourned legislative session, and why we will continue to do all we can until every student in Louisiana has a school that is warm, safe, and dry.
Visiting Lanier yesterday, it was amazing to see what can be done in just one week when a school and community rally together with a little extra financial support and organization. The school was a hive of activity with volunteers painting, fixing ceilings, lighting, and air conditioning, renovating the playground and more. School Pride host Jacob Soboroff interviewed Nash for the show, and we appreciated the opportunity share information and focus more attention on school facilities in Louisiana.
We’d like to thank the School Pride team for coming to Louisiana, and encourage you to watch the show when it premiers on September 24. Read more about it at their official website, follow on Twitter at twitter.com/NBCSchoolPride, and you can even sign up to volunteer at www.schoolpridevolunteers.com. You can also click here to read more about the importance of school facilities and what you can do to help. We all have a role to play in building great schools!
Read the entire blog post here. We’re unveiling the renovated school to the kids on Saturday. School Pride debuts on NBC Friday September 24 at 8PM/7C.
Photo by John Haffner.
Theme: Speaker by Alex Willemyns.
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